EXCLUSIVE: Bachelor in Paradise's Jarrod Woodgate and Keira Maguire on their wild ride to love

In this exclusive interview, we catch up with the soon-to-be King and Queen of reality TV!

Mar 23, 2018 4:30pm

By Bella Brennan

It's the calm before the Bachelor in Paradise storm but come Sunday, the nation is going to be BIP obsessed.

With just a few sleeps to go, Now to Love spoke with the show's breakout stars Jarrod Woodgate and Keira Maguire to talk about their time in Fiji, what makes a good partner and what fans can expect from the first-ever Aussie series of Bachelor in Paradise.

Jarrod Woodgate, 31

Welcome back to our screens Jarrod! Was it hard to go back to Fiji, aka the scene of the Bachelorette finale crime?Yeah look, when you're in a car from the airport to the location for two-and-a-half hours it plays on you a little bit! But apart from that, it was good to go back and see more of it.

How have you changed since we last saw you on The Bachelorette?I think I was going through a transition back then. And now that I know what I'm capable of, I can open up and be myself. There's no point stressing about life anymore! Life is good and I'm happy.

How have you dealt with the heartbreak and moving on from Sophie?A lot of distractions… I continued working, I think I stayed at the vineyard until I got offered to go to Fiji again. I kept it very low-key, hanging out with family and friends.

Have you reached out to Sophie since her split from Stu?Look, I touched base with her when it happened just to check up on her and then left it at that.

What did you think when you heard about their break-up?I was shocked! I went through it and now Sophie's also gone through it. We both put our hearts out there and this is what happens.

Sophie Monk, who? It's onwards and upwards for Jarrod Woodgate after his heartbreak of 2017.

You previously said you'd get back with Sophie if she changed her mind. Both of your lives have changed so much since you made those comments, do you still feel that way?Now I'm focusing on the future… Now it's a new life, it's a new story!

Ok, we take that as a no then! Tell us about BIP - it looks raunchy, it looks wild, it looks dramatic...I didn't really involve myself too much with other people's business but yes, there's a bit of raunchiness! It's not going to be too raunchy, it will still be family-friendly hopefully! Well, 7:30pm onwards it's gotta be.

And there's sleepovers this year! Did you get involved in any of that?You can yeah, you've just got to obviously tell production that you give consent. A few people got involved, I'm not sure what part of that they'll show [laughs]. But you'll soon find out!

WATCH: Jarrod and Sophie Monk in happier times. Post continues...

Tell us about Keira Maguire, you two seem to have really gelled?When we met on the show, it was pretty easy just to have a conversation. That's what we're there for! Just to be normal and have a chat.

What was it about Keira that caught your eye?Keira was just loud! [laughs]

What's important in a partner?Just someone that's going to allow me to be myself. And the other person can be themselves as well.

They have to be loving, caring and themselves. And have a good personality of course!

Are marriage and babies on the horizon?That will be something down the track. Like well, well down the track.

We have to ask, did you bring a pot plant to paradise?No, not at all! No pot plants here, no #PotPlantGate. That's all done and dusted hopefully.

New Year, new you?Exactly right!

Sorry guys, there'll be no pot plants this time around.

In the BIP promos, you say you've got a new approach. Can you talk to us about the new Jarrod we're going to be seeing on BIP?He's just a chilled-out version. I took some advice from Macca and Luke from the previous show, and I'm just embracing the moment and enjoying life. Don't stress yourself out so much!

There is of course a proposal at the end and everyone's speculating it's you?I know, I should just keep doing the voice recording for it [laughs]. You'll just have to wait and see!

What about those very steamy photos of you and Keira on the beach that we saw in January? You guys looked like you were having a great time, what was the story behind that?Ahh the ones in January? They used old photos from Fiji. What are they doing?!

But hang on, Keira's dog was there too and they were confirmed to be taken at Iluka beach in Northern NSW?What dog?

There's a little fluffy puppy in the pics…Ahh, they probably cut and pasted it.

Doesn't look like it but heyho! Who were your support crew in paradise?Everyone became the support crew but the boys especially from the previous season, they helped out a lot.

Jarrod was coy when we questioned him about Keira but he definitely seems like a very happy man...

The cast is from all over Australia, if you were to meet someone from another state would you move from Melbourne for love?Yeah, I don't see why not! If it worked, there'd be a timeline obviously because of my family business and having to up and lift. It would all depend on where, when, how.

What else is on the cards for you for the rest of the year?We've just done harvest at the vineyard so I need to focus on pushing out more wine. I think I need a break from the TV just do I can do some proper work!

Is it fair to say you're pretty happy from your BIP experience?I feel so relaxed, just having that little bit of a break I've come back and I feel like a new person!

Is that because you've met someone special?Ahh no, that's just because I didn't have to work [laughs].

Watch this space! Jarrod is rumoured to propose to the blonde bombshell at the end of the series.

Keira Maguire, 31

Keria, you're finally back on our screens! How excited are you for Sunday and who will you be watching it with?I'm so excited! I'm probably going to watch it by myself because I wanted to watch it with Laurina [Fleure] and she's going to be doing the Grand Prix on Sunday so I don't know if I'm going to have any friends.

How excited were you to go to Fiji and be reunited with all these beautiful Bachie stars?I actually was very excited. I feel like if I wasn't there, it wouldn't have been a good show let's just face it. I feel like I had a responsibility to be there.

But I also was like, you know what? Fiji, relaxing – who wouldn't want to go to Fiji and hang out with a bunch of like-minded people?

It is a very relaxing setting but from what we've seen on these trailers, it's going to be very dramatic?There's definitely a lot of drama, as you've seen on the promos there's love triangles.

But my favourite thing is the rose ceremonies because we all think we're safe and comfortable but anything can happen. The thing about the concept which I love is that you can be talking to one person and then someone else comes in and that can change the whole dynamic of the whole group.

And that's what's really interesting about the show is that anything can happen and anything can change and even we, as contestants on the show, are always guessing! It's actually more romantic than you think. It looks like a lot of drama but once the show starts to unfold, there's a lot of romance and there's some real love stories which is exciting.

Keira says the rose ceremonies will provide a lot of unexpected twists.

There's a lot of beautiful people on this island, which men caught your eye initially?Look to be honest with you, no one!

Luke was really cute. I really liked Luke when I first got there but he was taken.

Is it fair to say you had a better experience on BIP than you did on The Bachelor?Yeah I think it's a completely different dynamic. It's very different in that you're not dating the same guy as 22 other girls.

Even in the way that everyone has the opportunity to get to know everyone.

Most of the time I did get along with the guys more than the girls but it's just nice because you get to wake up with them. They don't get taken away, you can control your environment and it's not so forced.

It sounds like it's a level playing field for both the men and the women?It's pretty much Bachelor and Bachelorette on steroids with all your favourite contestants.

Were you worried someone like Richie Strahan might be dropped in as an intruder?No, there's no bad blood between Richie and I. He's the same as me and deserves love like us all.

I think when you're a Bachelor or Bachelorette, you're not really going to come to Paradise. There's a status quo there.

What about this year's Bachelor that they've picked, do you have any thoughts about Nick Cummins?OH MY GOD! I should have been on this season, I'm a little bit devo. I love him, I just think he's my kind of guy.

"It's pretty much Bachelor and Bachelorette on steroids with all your favourite contestants!"

Can you describe your kind of guy?Not really because every single boyfriend I've dated in the past is completely different. So it doesn't really matter, as long as you have a vibe and a connection and you just get along.

I'm not really going on the show the find love but I think ultimately, it's what I want. If this is where I find it, so be it!

What about this proposal, everyone thinks it's you and Jarrod?Haha! You're going to have to wait and seeeee.

Who were your allies and who were your enemies on the show?I didn't really have enemies. I know the trailer is a bit dramatic but everyone got along really well. Everyone had each other's back.

The great thing as well was you had expectations about what a person would be like and I actually was quite surprised by a lot of the people.

Who surprised you the most?Michael Turnbull! I think that he has this douche-bag persona but he's been portrayed to be like that, I think he'll surprise some people.

He's a really nice guy and I really like him! I hope that Australia sees him for who he is because I know that I thought he was that person and it's just not really fair.

"He's a really nice guy and I really like him," Keira says of Michael Turnbull.